Initiative to Expand Property Tax Benefits for California Homeowners 55 and Older Heads for November Ballot

A plan to allow homeowners aged 55 and older to take a portion of their Proposition 13 property tax benefits with them when they move to a new California home is eligible for the statewide ballot in November, Secretary of State Alex Padilla said in a release Thursday.

The measure, sponsored by the California Assn. of Realtors, has exceeded the 585,407 valid petition signatures it needed to qualify, Padilla said.

The initiative will appear on the ballot unless proponents withdraw it prior to June 28.

Proposition 13 limits property tax rates to 1% of a home’s value and caps values at which homes are assessed to 2% annual increases, no matter how much a property’s market value goes up. Under the initiative, elderly homeowners would be able to blend the value of their prior home with their new one to pay lower property taxes. Currently, elderly residents are allowed to do so only on a more limited basis in certain counties.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.